The present invention relates to a powdered beverage mixing and dispensing apparatus. The apparatus dispenses a powdered beverage substance and mixes it with water to produce a desired beverage.
Prior art beverage mixing devices encountered problems as a result of the powdered beverage substance forming clumps and cakes. The beverage substance powder is hydroscopic and thus readily absorbs moisture. Prior art beverage mixing devices typically used hot water and, as a result, produced steam or water vapor within the beverage apparatus. The entrapped water vapor was absorbed by the hydrophilic powder, resulting in caking of the powder. The caked or clumped powder tended to clog the hoppers and impede dispensing of the powder. As a result of the impeded powder dispensing, the beverage produced by such apparatus was inconsistent. Furthermore, the powder clumping problem required additional maintenance in order to break up the clumps and clear any dispensing tubes.
Another problem encountered with prior art powdered beverage dispensing mixing apparatus is that they tended to produce inconsistent beverages from the powdered beverage substance. One of the problems causing inconsistent beverages was the inability to thoroughly and effectively mix or blend the powder with a desired quantity of water to produce the resulting reconstituted beverage. Some prior art devices attempted to reconstitute beverage powders, for example hot cocoa mix powder, using only water forces to mix the powder with the water. In other words, water was injected into a mixing chamber and mixed with the beverage powder therein to produce the beverage. If variables associated with the water were altered, such as injection speed, the powder may not thoroughly mix and, as a result, produce an inconsistent beverage.
Additionally, prior art beverage apparatus did not produce a desired froth on top of the resultant beverage coffee drinks. For example, powdered beverage substances are available to produce cappuccino-type coffee beverages. In producing a cappuccino-type coffee beverage, it is desirable to have a layer of foam or froth on top of the beverage. This is desirable as it replicates the cappuccino beverages which are produced manually by the operator of a coffee bar. The coffee bar operator produces the froth by heating milk to produce a steamed and frothed milk substance which is poured over espresso to ultimately produce the cappuccino beverage. Prior art automatic beverage devices using powdered cappuccino beverage powder tended not to produce or inconsistently produce froth on top of the beverage produced from the beverage powder.
Another problem with the prior art beverage devices is that the mechanism which dispenses powder is prone to measuring inaccuracies. Part of the inaccuracy is caused by the angle of repose of the powder dispensed thereby. The powder tends to slide or fall and define an angle of repose. The size of the leading face of the powder flow contributes to the inaccuracies. The larger the leading face, the greater potential inaccuracies.
Prior art beverage mixing and dispensing apparatus also encountered problems with clumping and caking of the powder as a result of failing to mix or agitate the powder retained in the hopper. While some devices may have employed mixers or agitators within the hoppers, however, such mixers or agitators do not provide sufficient agitation of the powder to assure clump-free operation.
Prior art beverage mixing and dispensing apparatus dispense a beverage mixed thereby through a dispensing tube or nozzle. These dispensing nozzles have a tip that is spaced away from a cup positioned therebelow. The tip is generally defined by a straight cut across to end of the tube. In prior art devices, the straight cut tip tends to form a bubble on the end thereof upon the completion of a dispensing cycle. This bubble may rupture and splash into the cup, possibly splashing the patron of the device.
For the foregoing reasons, it would be desirable to provide a beverage mixing and dispensing apparatus which overcomes one or more of the above-stated problems.